By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Chiefs have made a blockbuster trade, moving All Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a haul of draft picks including three in this year's NFL draft.
It's the second time in three years the Chiefs have traded away a top cornerback instead of handing out a big-money extension. In 2024, Kansas City traded L'Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans. Cornerback will become a need in the free agent market and draft also with Jaylen Watson set to become a free agent next week.
Per a source, the Rams will receive McDuffie and in exchange the Chiefs will get the 29th pick in the first round of this years draft, as well as Los Angeles' fifth and sixth round picks, along with a 2027 third round selection. The Rams had two first-round picks in this year's draft as a result of a trade they made with the Atlanta Falcons last year. Los Angeles still owns the 13th pick in this draft.
McDuffie is expected to sign a long term contract extension with the Rams. During last week's NFL Combine, Chiefs GM Brett Veach had expressed interest in keeping McDuffie on the team as the two sides negotiated a contract extension as he was entering the final year of his contract.
“We had a lot of dialogue with Trent last spring, last summer. He’s first out of the gate. Looking forward to get with him and obviously Trent’s a great player. We’d certainly love to have Trent back for the long-term,” Veach said to reporters in Indianapolis.
McDuffie is coming off a season in which he started 13 games with the Chiefs. He registered one interception, one sack and one forced fumble during the regular season. Through his career in Kansas City, McDuffie had just three interceptions, with 34 passes defended, five and a half sacks, and eight forced fumbles.
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